


Do You Dare to Look Them Right in the Eyes?

by anD_nOw_tHe_wEaThEr (CryMeARiver3465)



Series: Way Down We Go [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Asexual Character, Asexual Sirius Black, Bad Parent Walburga Black, Bad Parenting, But We Dont Talk About That Here, Child Abuse, Face Punching, Feels, Gen, Gryffindors do NOT know when to quit, M/M, Nicknames, Orion Black's A+ Parenting, Pre-Relationship, Regulus Black is a Good Sibling, Remus Lupin is a Disaster Bi you heard it here first, Self-Preservation is STRICTLY a Slytherin Trait, Sirius Black is a Good Sibling, Sirius has no concept of personal space, Spells & Enchantments, These Idiots, oh stars, owch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 04:08:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryMeARiver3465/pseuds/anD_nOw_tHe_wEaThEr
Summary: Sirius Black had no sense of personal space.But no one ever went to his house.Remus Lupin thought this was odd, to say the least.~~AKA: Rescuing Sirius Black, the Remus Lupin way.
Relationships: (pre-slash), Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter & Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Way Down We Go [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2200398
Kudos: 18





	Do You Dare to Look Them Right in the Eyes?

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone always acts like Sirius was alone the night he left Grimmauld for the Potter's, and quite possibly, he was. But entertain, for a moment, that it happened differently. Pretend, for one second, that Remus Lupin was the reason he left.
> 
> TW: CHILD ABUSE IS SHOWN AND TALKED ABOUT. STAY SAFE, BABES!!!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Remus Lupin had never been to Sirius’s house.

James had. But Remus hadn’t. Neither had Peter. And James had barely been there. Sirius, apparently, had rushed the two of them out onto the expansive grounds as quickly as he could. 

This struck Remus as odd. Not because he wanted to go to Padfoot’s house, necessarily, if he wasn’t wanted. He loved Sirius, and he wanted him to feel safe and at home and not feel that his friends could never leave him alone. But the thing was… Sirius wasn’t like that about anything else. He slept in James’ bed half the nights, and in Remus’s at least once a week. He wore other people’s clothing and loved being around their parents. He shared his sweaters and sometimes all four marauders would wind up in his bed laughing and talking about their latest prank. Remus had read through his notebooks and listened to his music and borrowed his boombox so many times that it almost wasn’t even Padfoot’s anymore. 

Sirius Black had no concept of personal space, and would sling himself around people’s necks, while they were trying to study, or sleep in the laps of his best friends like the gold-hearted dog he could be. He stepped over every boundary, inserting himself into people’s hearts with such vigor and ferocity that girls would stare at him almost concernedly sometimes. 

And it wasn’t particular. Nearly everyone knew exactly how much Sirius didn’t care about keeping things personal. Which, of course, made Remus’s crush on him extremely hard to conceal. Every so often, Remus would be doing his homework, and Sirius would pop up behind him and wrap his arms around him, or demand that they sneak out and bring back treats from Honeydukes. And Remus would turn into a tomato and kind of just be a rotten mess, even when he said that he needed to study and Padfoot frollicked off to find James, that he wouldn’t be able to move past the arms around him and the niceness that was Sirius.

However, despite how Sirius acted, around everyone, with everyone, with Remus, there was one line he had never crossed. 

And that was the line of his house. 

No one went to Grimmauld Place, no one visited over the holidays, no one was invited. Sirius went home and he stayed home. He stayed alone.

Remus didn’t like this. It set off warning bells in his mind whenever he thought about it too long. 

So he didn’t think about it. Not until it became too much to ignore. 

It was the winter hols of Sixth Year when Remus decided to visit Sirius. And, he will gladly admit, even to himself, that it was selfish of him. He really, really missed Sirius, and he hadn’t gotten a response to any of his various(probably far too numerous, really) owls. 

So, like any good friend should consider, he set out for his friend’s house, to make sure he was alive, and maybe brighten up the haunted look in his eyes that he always got when he came back from the hols. 

It was a bit of a walk, and a bit of a bus ride, but Remus didn’t mind. He got off at the stop, and snow was falling steadily. He hoped that the buses would be able to take him home in the storm. 

It was still light out, and the cold gray light of the sky made him feel happy, despite the fact that he hadn’t heard from Sirius in nearly a week. The full moon was a week and a half ago, so he was feeling comparatively decent, in terms of scratches and body-aches. 

He found Grimmauld Place rather easily. It was the only gothic mansion on the street, and the way people’s eyes slid past the gates made Remus wonder if muggles could really see it. 

The gates were unlocked, and he went into the snowy grounds of the place, walking up the long cobblestone road to the main door. 

The place was deathly quiet, nothing at all like Remus’s bustling home, which he’d come from, full of children dashing about and screaming at each other. He’d had to cast a silencing charm twice to be able to get any of his reading done.

He walked up to the door, and before he could talk himself out of it, knocked on it, with the large gold knocker.

No answering sound greeted him, no striking of feet on the floor, no rumbling cacophony of a family barrelling down the stairs.

Instead, after exactly twenty-three seconds, the door sprang open to a house elf. He was old, and he looked ready to kill someone. Remus swallowed. “Hi,” he said, carefully, “I was wonder--”

“Welcome to Grimmauld Place, home of Orion and Walburga Black,” the house elf cut him off briskly, “What is the purpose of your arrival? The master is out.”

“I’m not here for the master,” Remus said, startled, “I’m here for Sirius.”

“Young Master Sirius?”

“Yeah,” Remus shot a hopeful grin at the elf, “Is he home?”

The house elf fixed a near glare upon him. “Master Sirius is always at home.”

Remus did not like the sound of that. But, he brushed it off. “Can you take me to him?”

“He is unwell.”

“I am his good… his best friend. Please let me see him. Mr. and Mrs. Black aren’t home. I’ll be gone before they knew I came.”

The house elf considered a long moment, and then said, “No. Goodbye.”

He moved to slam the door shut, when a voice shouted, “Oy, Kreacher! Hold up!”

The door, which had been almost closed, opened again, with an “As you wish, young master.” Remus Lupin stared into the green-gray eyes of Regulus Black. “Hey, Reggie,” he said, offering a smile.

Regulus glowered. “Don’t call me that. Come in, Lupin.”

Remus went in, rather willingly, as the snow had started to seep down his neck. 

“He’s up in his room,” Regulus looked out the window. “I assume Kreacher told you he is unwell?”

Remus nodded, and followed the boy into the parlor, where the two of them stood in front of the fire for a moment. Remus noticed that this was the first room in the house that had been properly lit. He wondered if that was intentional. All the other rooms were cold, streaked with gray light cut down from the clouds, sneaking in through windows and glancing off silver embellishments. This parlor was lit, and warm, with gleaming candles and a roaring fire. “I never got an answer from him on any of my owls. Do you know if he’s been getting them?”

Regulus looked uncomfortable. “You can ask him in a moment, when you’re warm.”

“Why?” he dragged a hand through his light brown hair, “What’s the matter?”

Regulus shook his head. “You can ask him.”

Remus straightened. “Then I will. Which room is his?”

“Fourteenth on the left. Second floor. Don’t go into any other room, Lupin.”

He nodded, and got up, setting out to find the room, leaving the warm parlor for the cold, dark halls.

“Oh,” said Regulus, just before he left, “Be sure to get out of here before my parents return. They will not be pleased if they discover your presence.”

It was haunting, how cold and removed Regulus’s voice was when he said that, but Remus brushed it off. He’d be gone soon enough.

He walked up the stairs, his eyes fixating on certain shadows which were too dark to be where they were.

He counted exactly fourteen doors down, on the left, and he knocked on the closed wooden door.

He heard a groan, and an all too familiar, “Reggie, just leave me alone.”

He opened the door, slowly.

“Merlin, Reg, can’t you hear? I said leave me alone!”

“Not Reg,” Remus said, quietly, and Sirius Black bounced to his feet. His eyes were wide and gray and his face was pale and Remus had never been quite so glad to see him.

“Remus!” he said, shocked, “What are you doing here? Why are you here? Did my parents see you? What’s wrong?”

The werewolf tilted his head to the side, confused, “I sent you like eight owls. You never answered. I got worried and decided to track you down.”

“Not to my house, Moony, you gotta know, oh God,” Sirius was walking around, dragging his hands through his long hair, pulling things into some sort of messy order, tucking books under his comforter, sweeping dirty clothes into a pile which he promptly kicked into his cavernous closet, etc. “Oh God,” he straightened his bed, then glanced out his window, “We’ve gotta get you out of here.”

Remus watched him for a moment, and then said, “Padfoot,” Sirius whipped around, a panicked glint in his eye that Remus had only been able to catalogue once or twice, “What’s the matter?”

“You’re here, that’s what’s the matter! You can’t be here! You’ve got to leave! Right away!”

“Why?” 

Sirius spun around, his eyes wild and kind of terrified, “My parents will kill us both if they find you here, and they’ve already hurt me enough. They can’t bloody have you too.”

Something was very not right, something beyond simple parental disapproval,. Sirius was actually scared, and the way he moved communicated it, jerky, panicked, but also… Remus noticed that he wasn’t moving like he normally did. He wasn’t standing lazily, like he usually did, he was tense, from his shoulders down, and that wasn’t right. “Siri,” Remus said, trying the nickname that only he was allowed to call him, “Siri, calm down, alright? Your parents aren’t here right now, and I’m going to leave before they get here.”

Padfoot relaxed, slightly, tension dripping out of him until he flinched. “Sorry, sorry, Moony. I didn’t mean to freak out on you like that… I just… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Padfoot, I was just worried about you.”

Something looked like it was broken when the black-haired boy answered, “You had no reason to be, Moons. I’m fit as ever.”

Remus bit back a snarky and slightly flirtatious response about exactly how fit he thought Sirius was. “No, you’re not, Sirius.”

Sirius blinked at him. “What are you on, Remus? I’m fine.”

“Fine people don’t rush around trying to shove their best friend out the window.”

Sirius shrugged, and let his eyes wander out to the steady snowfall. “You’d have been fine.”

“I know. I just don’t think you would have been, Padfoot.”

The two locked eyes across the room, and the long-haired boy shook his head, his thick, dark hair swirling around him in a way that Remus couldn’t make himself look away from. Remus swore internally. He needed to get over this crush. Like, last year. Maybe even two years ago now. 

Sirius sighed, and sat down on his bed again, looking completely haunted. 

Remus sat next to him, glancing down at the green bed cover that Sirius had clenched in his fist, now. Frick, the boy had nice hands. Remus wanted to kiss them. 

But he always wanted to kiss Sirius. Just right now especially. 

“Are you okay, Sirius?” he asked, gently, after maybe a minute of silence. 

“I’m fine,” he said, gently, “I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your owls, I didn’t know you’d sent any.”

“You didn’t?” 

Sirius shook his head. “I told them to forward all my mail to Hogwarts. I’ll read it when I get back. My parents didn’t like my owls, last year.”

“They read them?”

He shrugged. “Yes, last year anyway. I didn’t want to go through that whole mess again, although I suppose it didn’t matter much anyhow,” here he chuckled, darkly.

Remus was worried. He’d been worried before, but now his worries had worries.

“If it’s any consolation, Dear Remus, I’m extremely happy you didn’t forget me.”

Remus snorted, “Like I ever had a choice not to.”

Sirius’s cheeks tinged pink, but only slightly. Remus wondered if he had a fever. “Regulus said you were unwell. Do you have a fever, or something?”

Sirius snorted, “Why yes, indeed, I’ve caught the great global pandemic, you know, the one that’s been talked about for hours every uninhibited social gathering.”

Remus glowered at him. “There is no great global pandemic, idiot.”

“And I am not unwell.”

“Then what’s the matter? You’re not acting right. Something’s wrong.”

Sirius shrugged, and then winced. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s something,” Remus argued, “Tell me.”

“No,” Sirius rolled his head to the side, fighting off a very clear wince. “It’s fine.”

Remus knew that his back had to be bothering him. He’d had a few troubles with it in the past. He’d always blamed it on falling off a broom when he was younger. “What about your back?”

“I’m fine,” snarled the boy, glaring, slightly, “I’m fine.”

“Did you fall off another broom? Let me see…”

“No!” his voice came out in a snarl, “Leave it, Remus. I’m fine.”

Remus put his hands in the air, startled, and said, “Alright, Padfoot.”

The boy’s body relaxed, slightly. He dragged his hands through his hair and hissed. It took him three minutes to say anything else, and Remus left the space there, letting him be. The only sound that came out was a garbled noise, that sounded like the beginnings of fifteen words.

“Fine,” he growled, at maybe five minutes, “I’m not fine. I... “

Remus looked at him, curiously. The boy swallowed, sharply, and pulled his shirt over his head so quickly and smoothly that Remus panicked and nearly fell off the bed. Internally screaming, he couldn’t help his eyes being fixed to Sirius. He had seen Padfoot shirtless before, but like, never in his bedroom, never on their own, and his brain wouldn’t think anymore, oh gosh, had Sirius said anything yet? Remus panicked. How do you explain to your best friend that you hadn’t heard them because you were distracted by how attractive they were?

But then Sirius turned around, and Remus felt like he’d been shot through the heart.

Purple lines criss-crossed across his back in a way that looked magically induced. 

“Sirius,” he said, quietly, “What happened?”

Sirius shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

“That doesn’t look complicated. It looks painful.”

Sirius laughed, bitterly. “Yeah. It was. It is.”

Remus stared curiously at him. “What happened?”

Padfoot rolled his shoulders in a shrug. “My parents will kill you if they know you’re here. You gotta leave pretty quick. I can’t let them get to you, okay, Moony? You should leave, like five minutes ago, you need to get out of--”

And it clicked. Remus got it. Before he could talk himself out of it, or away from the idea, or even to think for exactly three seconds about how terrible of an idea it was to-- he hugged Sirius, tightly, but carefully. 

Sirius went silent. 

His arms went around Remus, and held on so gently it was like Remus was made of glass and would break if he held on too tightly. 

Remus pulled back only when Sirius did, and he looked up into the gray eyes of the boy. He was roughly two inches shorter than Sirius. “Sirius Black,” he said, very carefully, and Sirius shut his eyes, tightly, in a tiny involuntary flinch at his name, “Siri,” he tried again, and he got eye contact. “They hurt you.”

It wasn’t a question, but Sirius nodded, looking exhausted. 

“You need to get out of here.” Remus glanced around the dark room. “It’s not good for you here, Siri.”

Sirius nodded, seriously, “I’ll leave as soon as I get my inheritance. It’s only two years, when I’m nineteen.”

Remus shook his head, fiercely, “You need to leave now, Sirius.”

Sirius shook his head. 

Remus nodded. 

“They’re my family, Remus.”

“They don’t get to hurt you, Pads!”

Sirius dragged a hand through his hair, and answered, his voice rough, “They only do it when they’re really pissed, okay? It’s not all the time. It’s just once in a while, alright? Besides, I try and make ‘em angry, anyhow. They lash out, like I want them to. What else are they supposed to do? It’s the only way they know how to make me listen. I can’t blame 'em, not really.”

Remus crossed his arms in front of his chest, and took a step back from Sirius, who pulled his shirt back on, making the other boy’s cheeks redden something fierce. Why was the actual act of changing so hot, Remus wanted to know. It wasn’t fair. “You can too,” he answered. “There are plenty of ways to parent that don’t involve hurting your child!”

“It’s the only thing that makes me shut up,” Sirius said, after a moment, almost apologetically.

“Screw that, Siri! They’re hurting you! You need to get out of here!”

“I can’t leave,” he said, tiredly, “Reg is here. I don’t have any money, I can’t just leave and die somewhere else.”

Remus nodded, fiercely, “You can too. The Potters will take you in. You’ll never have to come back. They let me stay there last year for about three months.”

Sirius stared at him, startled. “What?”

“The Potters will take you in. No questions asked. They took me in two summers ago. My dad… was in a bad way.”

Sirius looked at him, silent, definitely asking for more information, but not wanting to overstep anything. How the turntables.

Remus dragged a hand through his fluffy brown hair. “Too much drink. Y’know. Tempers.”

Instantly, deep recognition, so much recognition that it hurt Remus to see flooded over Sirius’s face. “The Potters took you in?”

Remus nodded. 

“You really think they’d take me? I mean, I am a Black--”

“James loves you, you dolt. They’ll fall over backwards to make you stay.”

His shoulders fell.

He pulled his hands up his arms, as though he were cold. Remus watched the motion, tiredly. “You don’t have to, Siri,” he said, finally, “I just care about you, and I want you to be safe.”

Sirius looked at him, the gray light illuminating the dark bags under his eyes. “Yeah?”

Remus nodded, fiercely. 

Sirius scanned the walls of his room, and a glimpse of Hogwarts-Sirius flashed to the surface, the one who could make a sex joke out of anything a teacher could say, who finger gunned girls in the halls who blushed as he walked past, who laughed so loud and smiled so brightly that no one could escape falling in love with him. “I mean, sure as all hell can’t get worse than here.”

Remus’s heart was crumbling, looking at the boy.

“My parents are out, yeah?”

He nodded. 

Sirius tapped a finger to his chin, considering. His lips squished to the side, and his eyes picked up some sparkle. “Well, guess I certainly oughta consider it, huh, Remmy?”

Remus flushed. “Don’t call me that.”

Sirius grinned, jumping to his feet. “Let’s go find Reg. Maybe he’ll come with!” And the smile that Remus realized he hadn’t seen since he’d gotten there was making his whole chest area hurt. 

“You’re gonna leave?”

Sirius glanced about, decisively, “I can’t stay here now, Moony, with you looking at me all sad and heartbroken, now can I? Besides, If Jamesey-poo caught wind of this, he’d have my head. Especially if he heard it from you, first.”

“True,” Remus smiled, “He’d hate that you were getting hurt. And he’d hate me for being the one to tell you.”

Sirius stuck out his tongue. “Let’s find Reg!”

And the two boys dashed out into the hall, their eyes bright, Sirius grinning far more brightly than the old stone walls of Grimmauld Place had ever seen him. The two of them stumbled into the parlor, and the elusive smile left as quickly as it had appeared.

Standing in the center of the room, in pristine, terrifying, horrible glory, stood Orion and Walburga Black, warming themselves in front of Regulus’s roaring fire.

Regulus saw them first, and his eyes widened in terrified shock, and he held his hands up in a flash of panic.

But it was too late. Remus gasped, startled, as the two elder Blacks rounded on them. 

Sirius physically seemed to shrink, his shoulders caving inwards, and his body reacting like it had been cursed. Oh, bloody hell, they couldn’t have cursed him that quickly, could they? Remus panicked. He had no clue about any of this, Sirius had left out all useful information. He didn’t even know how easily the two of them could get angry. Remus literally knew nothing. Why was Sirius like this? Why did he never give the important information?

It was probably something he didn’t want to talk about anymore than he had to, but still.

It was extremely unhelpful to Remus, right then.

“Who is this,” said Mrs. Black, her eyes sharp and unforgiving.

Sirius cleared his throat, carefully. “He’s just leaving.”

“Who is he, Sirius?”

Sirius bit his lip, glancing at Remus. “A friend.”

“What’s his name?”

Sirius said nothing, his eyes sliding away from his friend’s, and landing on the floor. His whole bearing shifted, slightly, and he straightened up, some. 

“What is his name, Sirius Orion Black?”

The dark haired boy said nothing, silent, and Remus couldn’t take it. He had to do something; he had to butt in. Potentially dangerous, but he wasn’t going to let this happen. No way. “I’m Remus, Mrs. Black.”

The woman’s dark eyes slid to him, her eyebrows arching into her forehead. The man said, simply, his voice much calmer than his wife’s, “Remus Lupin?”

Sirius half-yelped, “No!” just as Remus said, firmly, “Yes, sir.”

“The half-blood?”

Sirius shook his head, fiercely, his eyes wide and terrified. “No, no sir.”

Remus’s eyes flicked to the boy, who looked ready to have a panic attack at any second. Oh, hell, Remus realized. Sirius needed to get out of here. Right now.

“We were just leaving,” he said, deciding that saying such was probably a smarter idea than cussing out the Blacks.

“The both of you?” Mrs. Black’s voice took on a kinder tone, and Remus nodded. 

“I daresay not,” Mr. Black said, “Sirius is to stay here. He will not be traipsing about the country with the likes of you.”

Well okay then, Remus thought, if that’s how he wants it to be. “Better in the company of a half-blood than in yours,” he said, carelessly, and Sirius shot Remus a mildly cocky smile of approval. 

Mrs. Black advanced on him, then, steadily, and snarled, “We don’t need your tainted blood muddling with our son’s.”

“Not like we go around being vampires,” Remus said, and added as an afterthought, “Ma’am.”

The woman’s lips turned into a sneer. “I’m sure you can turn him into something else quite easily.”

Remus stifled a flinch. Could she smell the monster on him? Sometimes people could tell he was inhuman. Something about his smell, or his mannerisms, or the glint in his eyes looked particularly hungry, seemed too animalistic, or something. Usually not two weeks before the full moon, though. 

Sirius looked panicked, and his voice was far too small, “Mother,” he said, moving in front of Remus, “I’m not going anywhere, and Remus was just leaving, weren’t you?”

Sirius looked pleadingly into soft amber eyes, but the resolve in Remus’s face made it very clear that Remus was not going anywhere without his Padfoot. 

Sirius glanced at his parents, briefly. “Go on, Moony,” he whispered, “Please.”

Remus crossed his arms. 

“Get out of our house,” snapped Walburga, her voice reminding Remus of the blade of a knife, “Half-breed miscreant.”

Remus didn’t care about anything other than Sirius, but Sirius was looking at him heartbreakingly. What could he do but whisper, “Fine,” and start to walk out? He didn’t want to put Sirius in danger.

So he left, walking into the icy air of the outer hallway.

He made it one door down before he heard them. He ground to a stop, and went back, lurking just outside the room. Eavesdropping. 

“Honestly, Sirius! We told you that time the Potter boy came here, we don’t want to see a single one of your disgusting blood-traitor friends in our house!”

Sirius didn’t say anything in response, and Remus wondered why. He’d have gone his mouth off any other time. 

“You ought to know better, you filthy disgrace,” Walburga’s voice sent shivers through Remus. “You never learn!”

“I didn’t know he was coming,” Sirius’s voice sounded far too quiet. “I wouldn’t have let him--”

“You shouldn’t even be friends with that monster! He reeks of dirty blood!”

Remus could hear the rage straining through Sirius’s words as his friend seethed back, “He isn’t a monster!”

“What do you call a werewolf then, Sirius?”

“My friend!” he snapped back, “Just because you can tell he suffers from Lycanthropy, Mum, doesn’t mean you can throw it around like that--”

“That monster would be better off dead, just like you. You’re a disgrace to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black!”

Sirius was silent for three seconds. “Good,” he said, “I’d rather be a muggle than be a good Black.”

A crack echoed around the room, and Remus flinched. Regulus made a quiet noise in his throat, that sounded like worry. “Shut up, Regulus. Unless you think the same?”

Regulus’s response to his mother was cold. “No, Mother.”

Self-preservation, Remus catalogued. Slytherin traits. One that Sirius did not possess for the life of him. 

Sirius exhaled, and Remus wanted to drag him away from this god-forsaken house and into his arms and home to Mrs. Potter and her tea and biscuits. 

“I think I’d like to retire to my room,” he said, his voice maintaining a level of cockiness, “Mother, Father.”

“You leave when we say you leave,” His father’s voice was ice-cold, more so than Walburga’s and Remus’s pulse stuttered. “Unless you’d like to explain to your pretty little friends why your face has been turned inside out.”

That was a terrifying threat. Remus swallowed. If Walburga was fire, Orion was ice. If Walburga was rash, Orion was calculated. He was the war behind the battle. Remus wanted to kick something. 

Sirius said nothing, but didn’t leave the room. 

“You owe your mother and I an apology.”

“I owe you nothing,” Sirius was an idiot, Remus decided. An idiot with no sense of when to quit. “You have given me nothing, so that is what I owe you.”

Walburga snorted. “We’ve given you your bloody life, maggot.”

“Like I said,” Sirius said, almost bored, “nothing. In fact, if anything, you’ve taken more from me than--”

“Crucio!” Walburga’s voice was like watching flesh blister. Remus leaned his head against the wall, silent. The hecking Cruciatus Curse. That didn’t leave any bloody marks. How many times had Sirius had that aimed at him?

Sirius’s shaky, pain-filled breathing made Remus want to cry. When it finally stopped, he assumed, Sirius made a weak little noise, before wheezing out, “Anything new up your sleeve, Mummy Dearest?”

Fuck. Remus tucked his head around the corner, needing to see, needing to know what was going on. Sirius’s face was pale, except for the side he’d presumably been slapped, which was flushed and bleeding. Walburga’s nails must have dug into his face.

Oh, bloody hell, Sirius was shaking, trembling, his eyes too wide, but a grin tilting his lips up. Was he masochistic or something? 

“I could,” Walburga said, her voice like nails on chalkboard, “Or I could just dish out some more torture. It’s not like you don’t deserve it.”

Sirius’s eyes suddenly snagged Remus’s, and the boy instantly flicked them away. 

“Regulus,” Orion Black’s voice sounded like a glacier cracking, “Leave.”

Regulus stood, and walked out, but seeing Remus, pulled the brown haired boy into the hall, out of hearing range, and hissed, “What the hell are you still doing here?”

“I couldn’t leave him, I--”

“Idiot,” he hissed, clapping his ice-cold hand over Remus’s mouth. “Listen to me very carefully, Lupin. We have one chance to get Sirius out of this goddamn house.” He swallowed, “You’re going to have to follow exactly what I say, understood?”

Remus nodded.

Three minutes later, Remus dashed into the room, and threw himself at Walburga, from behind, causing her to fall backwards, pulling her away from her son. Orion shouted, and Sirius, black eyed and bloody-nosed stared up at Remus dazedly. 

Remus, following Regulus’s guidance, jerked out a few fistfulls of dark hair from the head of the mistress of the house of Black. 

He jerked the woman’s wand out of her hand, taking advantage of her shock, and whipped around, brandishing it in both of the Black’s faces. “Get back,” he snarled, “I’ll kill you both.”

He pulled Sirius to his feet, keeping his touches as gentle as he could, “We’ve gotta move, Siri,” he whispered, gently. Sirius nodded, his eyes devoid of all light. 

Brandishing his wand, Orion snapped, “Ava--”

“EXPELLIARMUS,” Shouted Regulus, from behind the group, cutting off whatever curse was on his father’s lips, and promptly slammed out, “Petrificus Totalus!”

The two Blacks froze, their bodies cursed into stillness. 

Remus pulled Sirius gently out of the room, and Regulus put his battered arm over his shoulder.

The two of them went out, leaving Remus in the room with the two frozen adults.

For one second, Remus debated being the bigger person, and leaving them.

Then he decided, what the hell. He was only going to get this chance once. 

He punched Walburga Black in the face. Hard. 

And, because he had a magic marker on him, quickly drew a dick on Orion’s face. 

Then he left the room, dashing after the Black brothers.  
The three of them were a sorry little trio, the silence of Grimmauld Place all the more depressing.

“You need to leave,” Regulus said, “And I don’t want you to come back, Sirius.”

Sirius winced. “But, I--”

“Sirius, I love you. You can’t stay here. You need to leave. This place…” Regulus glanced up at the arched ceiling as they made their way up to Sirius’s room to grab his things. “It isn’t good for people. It isn’t good for either of us. But especially not you. Mother and Father haven’t left you alone since your third year.”

Remus blanched at the thought of tiny thirteen year old Sirius coming home to fists and unforgivable curses.

“And they’re not gonna leave you alone.”

After a moment, Sirius said, softly, into the dark, “Reg, you gonna come?”

Regulus shook his head. “They don’t care about me, Sirius.”

Sirius pulled a jumper off the floor, and grabbed his wand and what appeared to be a thick notebook. He turned to Remus. “That’s it.”

Regulus nodded, and glanced around the room, once.

“Reg, what do you think they’ll do when you tell them I’ve left?”

Regulus met his gaze. “You know what they’ll do, Sirius.”

The older dark haired boy nodded. He slung his arm carefully over Remus’s shoulders.

The three would up outside in the icy wind and the moonlit skies.

Sirius hugged Regulus. Remus nodded at the only good Slytherin he’d ever met.

Regulus smiled, carefully. “Ey, Sirius!” he called, after a moment, “You’re gonna stay my brother! No matter what!”

The two boys caught the Knight Bus to Godric’s Hollow. 

Sirius was crying. He leaned his head against Remus’s shoulder, turning his wet eyes into the cable-knit jumper that Remus had worn that day. He still looked beautiful, Remus thought, but he didn’t look happy.

But Remus wasn’t going to talk about it. They’d done enough talking for the day.

They needed Mrs. Potter’s tea and biscuits, and James’s too big hugs and too quick laugh. 

They were almost there, anyhow.

Sirius was almost home.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to scream at me in the comments! I hope you enjoyed!


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